If my mom could read this she would be so proud! Putting an excessive amount of time and energy into little projects that carried a short shelf life is what she did best. That gene might be a little hereditary. For some reason, my creative juices have been flowing more than normal this winter. I’m constantly thinking of things that I can make for those I love. What can I do to show a group of people that I care about them? Since the group in mind consisted of high school girls, I knew sugary treats would win them over.

Every Thursday night I host a small group of high school girls at my house for a Bible study and hang out sesh. I’d say we do more hanging out than studying but I’m OK with that. These girls have touched my life in a way none of them will probably understand. No matter my mood, they always know how to make me smile or distract me from the hurdles that life constantly throws at me. I wanted to bake them something to show how much I care about them. I found two of my favorite family chocolate chip cookie recipes and brainstormed a fun way to package them. As a graphic designer, putting baked goods in a Ziploc bag and calling it a day simply won’t do. I stumbled upon these adorable reindeer gift tags from Eat.Drink.Chic that were perfect for my high school girls. I spent a Wednesday evening baking and packaging and come Thursday night the girls were thrilled. I even received compliments from parents of certain girls saying they wanted to be put on my baking distribution list next time around. If they’re lucky.

Have you made anything recently that took a lot of time and energy? What’s your best cookie recipe?

I can’t believe it’s mid-January and I’m just beginning to feel recovered from the holiday season. There is a specific adrenaline rush that I have a love/hate relationship with during the season. I love shopping and baking and wrapping gifts and making crafts but I hate how tired I am and how every other area of my life not pertaining to Christmas gets put on the back burner. Christmas is a wonderful time of year but I am happy that it only comes once a year.

This year was slightly different than most; Jeremy is in grad school 1,000 miles away. During his short break there was added chaos and expectation to spend time with certain people and visit certain places before he left again. His departure date came and went very quickly. As we loaded the van, walked the dogs, kissed goodbye and wiped the tears from our eyes, I was overwhelmed with bittersweet feelings. Of course I don’t enjoy being away from one of the greatest blessings in my life, but I was excited that things were going to settle down and I was going to get back to my routine. I’m obsessed with order and routine and thrive off planning and list making. Getting back to all that was the sweet side of saying goodbye for me. Have to keep focused on the ‘glass is half full’ mantra in order to stay sane.

Organizing/cleaning out underneath my bed that houses every art project from high school to undergrad was first on my to-do list. There’s a snippet into some of the weird things that I enjoy.

Here’s to being back to my familiar routine. Finally. It only took a month.

Starting a blog is definitely just as intimidating as I thought it was going to be. I assume it will get easier and become a fluid part of my day. This blog will most likely become a collage of all the creative outlets I plug-in to. From cooking to crafting to playing and working I’ll share where I find joy each day.